CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE AS A TOOL FOR FIGHTING ETHNOCENTRISM IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper focuses on the bio-social roots of Nigerians as respective citizens of the many ethnic nationalities that make up their country. As a country with plural tribes, Nigeria is blessed as a consequence. This is because the diverse and heterogeneous peoples that populate Nigeria are excellent sources of strength, if united, and enormous reservoir of human capital, if harnessed. However, from the findings of this paper that there is an undue emphasis on one’s ethnic bond to the detriment of the national ideals of justice and peace, love and unity. Some citizens consequently are isolated, marginalized and seen only but not heard. This is the effect of the evil of ethnocentrism. This tribal consciousness which discriminates against one’s fellow human beings based on the prejudice of native origins and boundaries has thrown Nigeria into chaos and chains of hydra-headed economic, socio-cultural, religious and political problems. This work sees the solution as the application of the contents of Christian Religious Knowledge which should influence our daily lives in the Nigerian society. Jesus Christ, the author of Christian Religion has evidenced in the Holy Bible that tongues and tribes may differ but we are from one Father (Matthew. 6:1ff) as the foundational virtue to understanding the Biblical models whose applications fight ethnocentrism. Those Biblical models encourage us to build bridges of civilization of love instead of walls and gulf of hatred. When Nigerians follow these biblical models, ethnocentrism will belong to the past and will exist no longer in our work places, streets, homes and hearts but only in history books. The methodology employed in this work is descriptive-observational which means that ethnocentrism as a social phenomenon among the Nigerian tribes and its destructive consequences were observed and studied over time.